Baidu Unveils Two AI Models to Rival DeepSeek and OpenAI

The Chinese tech giant launches Ernie X1 and Ernie 4.5, emphasizing affordability, multimodal capabilities, and open-source accessibility.

Baidu has introduced Ernie X1, a reasoning-focused AI model, and Ernie 4.5, a multimodal foundational model, claiming performance parity with competitors at lower costs.
Ernie X1 is designed for enhanced reasoning, planning, reflection, and evolution, while Ernie 4.5 integrates text, video, image, and audio processing with improved logic and memory capabilities.
The company plans to make its Ernie AI models open-source starting June 30, following the trend set by Chinese startup DeepSeek earlier this year.
Baidu has made its Ernie Bot chatbot free for individual users and will integrate the new models into its product ecosystem, including its search engine.
The announcement comes as competition intensifies in China's AI sector, with major players like Tencent, Alibaba, and ByteDance advancing their own models.